Interlude
by M. Tullius Cicero
Summary: Series of oneshots in ME universe, from background stories to  fictional  events in between the games to crew banter. Tagged both MShep and FemShep to explore all possibilities. Will come in a variety of genre and structure. In progress. Enjoy!


**Interlude~ The Prelude  
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This is my attempt at writing some random oneshots in ME universe.

There may be spoilers, so I guess I should give you a shout before I launch into this. But why the hell are you reading fan fictions from Mass Effect if you haven't already played the game? I suggest you go play the game NOW. I promise you won't regret it. My personal favourite was ME2.

I am still quite new to the world of fan fiction (though I have a lot of ideas and am planning to continue publishing at a regular interval...), so please don't put a gun in my face a la Conrad Verner, push me through the window without giving me a chance to say goodbye (like that Eclipse mercenary) or fry me like Vido Santiago. Just comments and reviews will be nice. Oh, and I better mention that Mass Effect universe is the property of Bioware and EA (and a bit of Microsoft) before I get sued.

If you like what you read, please check out my profile! Feel free to PM me as well if you have anything you'd like to chat about (things like gushing about how sexy Garrus/Thane/Wrex is)! :) Thank you.

Yours truly,

M. Tullius Cicero

PS: I use British English to those of you who think I make a lot of spelling mistakes.

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><p><strong>Janitor of Omega<strong>

An imperious and rather demanding asari is lounging in a VVVVVVIP area in Club Afterlife. Her predatory eyes take in everything in a lazy glance- the dark laughter from the bars, the svelte hips of the dancers and the mercenaries dancing away on a high. She notes that it's a relatively quiet day on Omega today- her guards haven't informed her anything of importance and nobody has broken the golden rule of Omega yet.

This kind of day is a rare occurrence, and she feels that she should celebrate with a drink. She eyeballs Grizz, her turian bodyguard, and he immediately catches wind of her mood. A few seconds later, a salarian bartender lobs a bottle of quality vintage Bordeaux wine to Grizz. He then does his little flourish, going back to his old roots as a bartender here, before decanting the wine. She nods appreciatively, and smells the wine. It is a good vintage. She pours herself a drink into a silver wine glass, a rare human antique she "obtained" from her sources. She vaguely recalls it being from "the Roman Empire", and she wonders what that means. Then she quickly dismisses the thought- she never pays much attention to the past unless it's strictly business.

Speaking of business, as she sips her wine rather elegantly, she notices a turian that has just walked into Afterlife. She takes note of his stature, his gait and his confidence. She facepalms. Just as she is about to have a nice little day off with her posse, this guy walks straight in. She has hoped he wouldn't show up here, but it turns out he just couldn't resist the lure of Omega.

She isn't overreacting; she has read a lot about him, and it turns out he stirs up trouble wherever he goes. Thinks of himself as a bit of a hotshot. And she does NOT like hotshots, even more so when they happen to have a sniper rifle with them.

She groans inwardly as she observes him approaching her with a grim purpose. Grizz notices her change of mood, and his eyes follow the direction of her gaze to look at the turian as well. He also does his little facepalm as he realises who the guy is. He snaps his fingers impatiently, bringing the batarians to attention as the mysterious hotshot walks up the stairs to the VVVVVVIP lounge. He is about to stop the hotshot when the asari coughs. Grudgingly, Grizz lets the hotshot walk past him and his guards towards her.

Imperious Asari: That's close enough.

Turian Hotshot: All right. (Stops in his tracks)

Imperious Asari: (Sounding bored) Well, if it isn't my _favourite_ hotshot in the galaxy.

Turian Hotshot: Wow, I never thought I'd hear that from the queen bitch of Omega. Should I feel honoured?

Imperious Asari: (Impatiently) Do whatever you like, as long as you don't cause any trouble in Omega. My Omega. (Twirls the wine glass in her hand) We clear?

Turian Hotshot: Now, my dear… What makes you think I'm here to cause trouble? (Crosses his arms) I'm only here for the drinks, some dances and some… calibrations for my sniper rifle.

Imperious Asari: And that's what makes me wary of you. (Glares at him) Your sniper rifle.

Turian Hotshot: (Shrugs) You have a problem with my sniper rifle?

Imperious Asari: No. But I have a problem with what you do with it- whenever you point that at someone or something, things tend to get ugly. Real ugly. And I dislike ugliness.

Turian Hotshot: (Narrowing his eyes) Hmm… Are you discriminating against ugly people in the galaxy, Aria? That's not very nice of you.

Aria T'Loak: (Laughs quietly) I do indeed dislike ugly people and ugly things. Look around you, Garrus Vakarian. (Waves her hand dismissively) Club Afterlife is symbol of Omega. (With a spark in her eyes) Power. Hedonism. Complete freedom from everything.

Both of them gaze around them in silent appreciation of the place. She picks up her wine glass from the table and swirls it in the light, appreciating its deep plum colour.

Aria: Those things make my Omega such a beautiful and alluring place, yes? Therefore, it follows that in Omega, being weak is simply an obnoxious idea… (Sips the wine) And the same could be said for causing troubles for me. (Smiles a little)

Garrus: (Sighs and paces around) All right, I get it, I get it. I'm not a child, Aria… I do understand there are some rules, even for complete freedom. (Air quotes) Don't fuck with Aria.

She finishes the wine, content. Then she picks up the decanter with care and starts to pour more wine into the silver glass expertly from a considerable height. Garrus watches the long, thread-like steady stream of wine.

Garrus: (Stops pacing around the lounge) But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and eliminate the three mercenary gangs while I'm here.

Her face is impassive, but the steady stream of wine quivers for an instant, betraying her surprise. Nevertheless, she continues to pour the wine.

Aria: Now isn't that interesting. The turian hotshot, who thinks too much of himself, wants to go on a holy crusade against those who make Omega powerful. (Looks at him meaningfully for an explanation while her hand is still pouring the drink without spilling any.) Didn't take you to be a self-righteous bastard.

Garrus: (Grins ruefully) Nah, just think of me as a… janitor of Omega. 'Cause this place needs a clean-up, fast.

Aria doesn't respond. She stops pouring the wine, as the wine glass is full. Garrus finally decides to sit down on one of the couches, keeping a good distance from her. Aria doesn't seem to mind, and motions to Grizz, and he provides Garrus with another silver glass not unlike Aria's. Garrus declines. Grizz shrugs, and puts the glass on the table anyway.

Garrus: The Blood Pack, Blue Suns and Eclipse have been yapping at each other for decades, right here, in the heart of the Terminus Systems. And every now and then, bang! It boils down to one hell of a conflict with pointless amount of people dead. Then they make an uneasy truce, maintain the equal balance of power between them and repeat the process. (Pauses) It makes one wonder the point of these conflicts when none of them really wins.

He picks up his glass from the table and starts fidgeting with it.

Garrus: And I might be here to shake up the status quo a little. Consider it a small favour.

Aria: (Picking up her glass) Ah. I should have guessed.

Garrus: What do you mean?

Aria: After the shenanigans involving Saren and the geth, you've become rather bored. The hunt for that rogue Spectre has awoken the bloodthirst and silly pride in you. (Muses) You want to kill with that sniper rifle, not file reports. And the only place you can do so without much of a repercussion is Omega. (Pauses) How am I doing?

Garrus becomes still.

Aria: Bullseye.

Garrus: (Smirks) You are good. You should give yourself a pat on the back.

An awkward silence ensues. The music in the club changes to something more laid back than before.

Garrus: So I take it you don't have any objections?

Aria: (Pointedly) As long as you don't fuck with me, no.

Garrus: (Trying his hardest not to laugh) I thought you didn't like anybody causing trouble.

Aria: (Irritated after realising what she'd said) Oh, I don't like anyone causing trouble for me, and I needed to be sure you weren't going to do so. But it turns out that you are going to provide some amusement for the next few months. (Smirks) You're the first to go against those pesky bastards, mind you. They've been forgetting the core values of Omega. It's time they've been taught a lesson. Of course, you won't come out alive, but have fun anyway.

Garrus: (Rolls his eyes) Great, thanks. I'll get started right away.

He gets up and starts to walk away when his omni-tool bleeps. He looks at it and reads the notification. It is about the newest sniper rifle model and some illegal upgrades waiting for him at the Omega Market. He frowns in confusion, then realises something and turns around to look at Aria. She is busy watching a newsflash on her omni-tool. She feels him looking at her, however.

Aria: (Not bothering to look at him) Snipe some for me, would you?


End file.
